About Us
Who We Are
NCRUS formed in 2005, soon after the Navy announced its plans to locate the Undersea Warfare Training Range off North Carolina’s coast. Individuals, as well as local and national organizations, decided to work together to better understand the issue and help inform the public about the potential impacts the range would have on North Carolina’s fisheries, economy, and coastal environment.
NCRUS supporters include: A Northern Right Whale in Onslow Bay, North Carolina. Photo Courtesy of Captain Joe Shute
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital
North Carolina Wildlife Federation
Audubon North Carolina
North Carolina Coastal Federation
Pamlico-Tar River Foundation
Environmental Defense North Carolina
Southern Environmental Law Center
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Natural Resources Defense Council
North Carolina Sierra Club
PenderWatch & Conservancy
International Ocean Noise Coalition
Animal Welfare Institute
Ocean Mammal Institute
Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats
Earthjustice
About our Logo
The Sea Turtle
North Carolina’s coastal waters and beaches provide important habitat for several species of sea turtles—all of which are either threatened or endangered—including loggerheads, leatherbacks, green sea turtles, and the extremely rare Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. Satellite-track individual turtles’ movements off North Carolina’s coast.
The Humpback Whale
Humpback whales migrate through North Carolina’s coastal waters every spring and fall. These curious and social whales travel in groups called pods. Humpbacks use and rely on sound to communicate and hunt. During courtship, males sing songs that can last ten to twenty minutes.
The Red Drum
Red drum—also known as redfish, channel bass, and spot-tail bass—is the official saltwater fish of North Carolina, learn more, NC Fisheries website. These unique and popular fish are known to live as long as 62 years! Red drum are members of the drum family (Family Sciaenidae), whose species make up the majority of North Carolina’s valuable commercial and recreational fisheries. Juvenile red drum inhabit coastal estuaries, including Pamlico Sound, before heading for the ocean as adults around their fourth or fifth year. Adults return to coastal inlets and estuaries to spawn.
The drum family is named for the drum-like sounds that males produce during spawning. Different species of fish in the drum family make unique sounds. When more than one species is in an area they can actually be identified in a recording based on their sounds. Red drum, silver perch, speckled trout, and gray trout are all members of the drum family in North Carolina’s waters that use sound during courtship and spawning. Silver perch are also known to depend on sound to avoid predators.
Military sonar could interfere with drum fish fisheries by disrupting the underwater sound environment. In particular, a sound-polluted environment could affect these and other fishes’ courtship and spawning as well as predator avoidance. Serious behavioral changes in response to military sonar could have significant implications for recreational and commercial fisheries. A significant amount of research demonstrates fishes’ use of sound and sensitivity to underwater noise.